


Misplay

by Phnx



Series: Game On [1]
Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-14
Updated: 2012-09-14
Packaged: 2017-11-14 05:20:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phnx/pseuds/Phnx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Entry to Round Four of the 2012 Deathmatch Tournament (team: Kawahagi Middle School; pseudonym: akota; theme: sour).</p><p>Ashiwara plays to win; Saeki doesn't even realise there's a game on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Misplay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lanerose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanerose/gifts), [rex_sun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rex_sun/gifts).



> I made a few (minor) changes, so this copy is a little different from [the one I entered to the tournament.](http://uchikomi.dreamwidth.org/11955.html)

\--

Ashiwara had the peculiar ability to appear—amid sparkles and stars—as though from thin air, and he cheerfully utilized this ability at every opportunity, as he did now for his favourite victim. “Saeki-kuuuun,” he called, “I’m having… cravings.”

He liked to open with bold plays; it made the game more exciting.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at the two. Saeki’s ears went red. Too easy. “Oh?” he replied cautiously. “What for?”

“This special type of lemon candy,” Ashiwara replied, grinning at the looks of relief—and, occasionally, disappointment—that spread throughout the room.

“That’s nice.” Saeki still appeared to be suspicious. He was getting to know Ashiwara quite well, it seemed. Most of the other occupants of the room had already turned back to the goban they were studying.

Time to connect. “But the store I bought it from is a long way away… And it’s so boring to ride the train alone…”

“Maybe Touya will go with you.”

 _Tsk—that’s a weak attack, and you know it._ “He’s busy studying with Shindou.” It was true. Ashiwara had waited patiently until they were completely submerged in their go before approaching Saeki.

“Ogata, then.” There was a pause in which Saeki seemed to picture this scene, because his lips twitched. Ashiwara sniggered, not even bothering to block this move. “Or someone else from your study group.”

“Are you ready to leave now?” he asked, ignoring the last suggestion because there were members of his study group in the room right now who were clearly in need of some type of occupation. Most of the games had already ended for the day, but it wasn’t uncommon for people to linger behind, discussing games or just standing in small groups and talking.

Saeki looked up at Ashiwara, and the resolve crumbled from his expression. He sighed in resignation and stood up, excusing himself from his study partners. “So where did you say we’re going?”

_And round one is a win._

\--

Round two was a little more complex.

“…You know, when you said it was a ‘long way away,’ I was imagining more like… Nakano, or Shinagawa. Not _Saitama_.”

“Hush. We’re almost there.”

As the train pulled up at Saitama Shintoshin Station, Saeki looked mournfully at his watch and sighed. Ashiwara couldn’t help but observe that he seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. Maybe he had a respiratory condition? It was so distracting that Ashiwara was having difficulty keeping track of the moves—though he was positive that he was still well in the lead.

The doors jerked open, and Saeki gestured vaguely toward them. “Well,” he said, “lead on.”

Ashiwara had only been to Saitama once before, and he wasn’t quite sure where he was going. They wandered around for a time, trying different streets and backtracking, and Saeki was looking strained by the time Ashiwara realized they’d taken the wrong exit out of the station.

Saeki remained irritatingly silent as Ashiwara led them on, speaking only to discourage Ashiwara from getting side-tracked whenever he found something interesting. Finally, they arrived at a small knickknacks store, and Ashiwara bounced inside, selected several bags of lemon drops, bounced over to the register, and finally bounced out the door again. Saeki meandered after him, looking relieved, but he frowned when he saw the purchases.

“Ashiwara… are you sure that’s the right type?”

“Absolutely!”

“…You do realize that you can buy those from the vending machine in the Ki-in, don’t you?”

Ashiwara looked down into his bag and grinned nervously. “…Oh?”

Saeki just sighed and walked on, pinching the bridge of his nose.

_…Let’s call it a tie._

\--

“Maybe I should have chosen a different type of candy…” Ashiwara said to himself around the lemon drop in his mouth, wandering through the Ki-in the next day en route to his study group meeting. Research, that was the key. He should have taken care to choose a type of candy that was only available in a faraway ward, or one rare enough that Saeki wouldn’t know about it. When he’d originally designed this plan to spend more time alone with Saeki, he’d expected Saeki to be irked, but he hadn’t imagined that the other man would be this upset. And really, why was he? Sure, he’d been dragged clear out of Tokyo for a sham reason, but still—it had been fun! Not so much on the return trip, though. Ashiwara had barely been able to squeeze a word out of Saeki, who had turned reticent in his exasperation—no chance for another round, there. Well, fine. Ashiwara would just find a way to make it up to him… Preferably a way that involved spending more time together. Maybe dinner?

He was so caught up in his plans that he almost walked straight into the conversation, but his ears, which had apparently been more alert than the rest of him, caught his name and ordered his feet to a stop.

“Why don’t you just tell him?” Ashiwara peered around the corner. It was Saeki and one of the nameless members of his study group, standing in front of the vending machines. Saeki was pacing the hall, his hands alternating from being shoved into his pockets and wrapped defensively around his arms. Ashiwara took the opportunity to admire the other man’s jeans.

“I’ve tried, but he’s always so nice—I don’t want to hurt his feelings or anything! He’s just _so irritating!_ I can’t take it anymore!”

“Come on, Saeki. Ashiwara’s a big boy; I’m sure he can handle it.”

“Can he? I’ve never seen anyone let him down before—not even Ogata, and that guy’s as heartless as you can get.”

“Still—”

Ashiwara turned from the scene and walked away, chewing thoughtfully on the remainder of the candy. The lemon flavour had already faded, but the sour taste remained in his mouth all day.

END


End file.
